A report on the evaluation of the 2023 Street Cleaning Pilot

To the Honorable, the City Council:

I am hereby submitting this report on the Evaluation of the 2023 Street Cleaning Pilot. In response to the Council Order requesting a report on the feasibility of eliminating regular towing as part of the street cleaning process, the Department of Public Works (DPW) implemented the Pilot Program in 2023. City staff from DPW and the Traffic, Parking and Transportation Department have evaluated the Pilot over the 2023 season and report the following on the effectiveness of the Pilot and recommendations for additional modifications to the Pilot for the City’s 2024 street cleaning season.

REPORT INCLUDES:

1. History of the program – How and why do we do street sweeping? 2. Key Elements of the Pilot 2023 Street Sweeping Program 3. Public Outreach 4. Evaluation of the Pilot 5. Recommendations for 2024 Street Sweeping Program

1. HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM – HOW AND WHY DO WE DO STREET SWEEPING? The street sweeping program goes back to 1885 and is focused on keeping the streets clean, free of leaves, rubbish and debris, and improving the water quality of storm water that is discharged to the Charles River and Alewife Brooke.

The program evolved over the years to include towing. The ticketing alone system was not working. The streets were not able to be properly cleared due to too many vehicles blocking the operation. In 1969 City Manager Jim Sullivan called the condition of the streets “deplorable” and the current towing program went into effect five years later. In 1998, when the City Council discussed the extension of street cleaning to December, Councillor Davis observed that “street cleaning is like eating your vegetables; you may not like it, but it’s good for you.”

While towing improves the effectiveness of street cleaning, the inconvenience of having a vehicle towed can be significant for residents. Other communities have eliminated towing as part of the street cleaning program, with somewhat mixed results. Both Somerville and the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston do not tow for street cleaning and are reasonably satisfied with the results. Boston increased the tickets associated with street cleaning and both communities provide twice monthly street sweeping vs.

Cambridge’s once a month program. The remainder of Boston continues to have a ticket and tow program. New York City has alternating street cleaning for 90-minute periods and does not typically tow. They report that 50% of drivers have stopped moving vehicles, decreasing the effectiveness of the program.

Current Program – How is the program implemented? The residential street sweeping program sweeps both sides of every residential street once per month April through December using mechanical brooms. During the months of April, July, and November regenerative air (vacuum) sweepers are used in addition to the mechanical sweepers. The City also sweeps plazas/arteries/squares (daily), bike lanes, and parking lots. Certain main streets with primarily meter parking are swept overnight more frequently than monthly (no towing on overnight routes).

The street sweeping program has benefits for both general cleanliness and storm water. a) 1,500-2,000 tons of material (litter, debris, leaves, and sediment) are removed from Cambridge streets during a typical year. b) Accessing the curb is critical for effective street sweeping, as a USGS street sweeping study in Cambridge found that 57% of solids are within 3ft of the curb and 95% of solids are within 9ft of the curb. c) Street sweeping decreases storm water pollution by reducing the amount of suspended sediment, nutrients, and other pollutants that reach the Charles River and the Alewife Brooke.

For this reason, street sweeping is a requirement of the City’s storm water discharge permit with EPA/DEP. d) Street sweeping decreases the amount of phosphorus that reaches the Charles River and the Alewife Brooke on an annual basis and will be included in our Phosphorus

Control Plan as one of the strategies to meet our required target of reducing 700 pounds of Phosphorous per year to the Charles River. e) Street sweeping reduces the risk of localized flooding by keeping storm drains clear of leaves and debris. f) City staff coordinate catch basin inspections and cleanings with street cleaning to reduce additional parking disruptions and simplify this maintenance work.

2. KEY ELEMENTS OF THE 2023 STREET SWEEPING PILOT a) No enforcement of towing. b) Increased street cleaning violation from $30 ticket to $50 ticket for each violation. c) Modified the street cleaning contract to provide additional handwork and leaf blowers to clean around parked vehicles, particularly in months when the leaves and debris are the heaviest. This increased the existing $500,000 annual street sweeping contract by 25% to include an additional $125,000 for hand crews. Hand crews were used during the month of April and October 15 through December 7. d) Outreach to the community introducing the Pilot and reminding residents of the importance of continuing to move vehicles.

3. PUBLIC OUTREACH Numerous efforts were made to widely advertise the 2023 Street Cleaning Pilot.

Outreach focused on the following messages: a) Announcing the Pilot Program and increase to $50 tickets for parking violations. b) Emphasizing residents should continue to move vehicles for street cleaning. c) Encouraging residents to sign up for automatic street cleaning notifications at cambridgema.gov/StreetCleaningReminders. At the beginning of the Pilot, there were 15,000 people signed up for automatic street cleaning notifications.

Currently there are 16,100 (7.3% increase). d) Distributing the street cleaning schedule (attached at the end of this report). All residents that receive a residential parking permit or visitor pass receive this information, but additional means of distributing this information was completed during the Pilot. e) Asking residents for feedback on the Pilot through a public survey.

The following is a summary of outreach completed: a) Public SurveyMonkey (Street Cleaning Pilot Survey) open 3/21/2023 until 12/30/2023. Through 11/13/2023, 181 responses have been received.

b) The City’s 2023 Resident Opinion Survey included the question below on the street cleaning pilot. “As you may know, the City implemented a street cleaning pilot program that replaced towing associated with street cleaning with a $50 fine. Thinking about the current level of cleanliness of our streets, do you favor or oppose this pilot program becoming permanent?” c) Street cleaning web page (cambridgema.gov/streetcleaning) updated on 3/21/2023 to include information about the Pilot. This webpage typically has 15,000 views annually. d) 52,966 Post Card Mailers sent on 3/22/2023 (mailed to every household in the City), as shown below.